historic preservation

Qiao Guohua patrols a 5-mile stretch of the Great Wall of China. Roughly a third of the wall's 12,000 miles have crumbled to dust, and saving what's left may be the world's greatest challenge in cultural preservation.
Anthony Kuhn/NPR
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China's Great Wall Is Crumbling In Many Places; Can It Be Saved?

Neonta Williams (left) shares family letters dating back to 1901 with preservationist Kimberly Peach during the Smithsonian's Save our African American Treasures program at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Peach advises her to use archive-quality polyester sleeves to protect the fragile papers, rather than store them in a zip-lock bag.
Debbie Elliott/NPR
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Preserving Black History, Americans Care For National Treasures At Home

Many institutions have their archives stored on CDs — but the discs aren't as stable as once thought. There is no average life span for a CD, says preservationist Michele Youket, "because there is no average disc."
Sarah Tilotta/NPR
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Geneva Post Office in Geneva, Ill., with no clear disposition review process in place, hundreds of these historic civic buildings may be endangered by U.S. Postal Service cost cutting, including this one.
Matthew Gilson/National Trust for Historic Preservation
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